Mic Check Poetry Fest continues spoken word growth in Iowa City with Rudy Francisco, new headliners

IOWA CITY — For Rudy Francisco, one of the most widely known spoken word artists in modern poetry, it started with a feeling. When he first saw a spoke word poem performed, he knew exactly what the poet was feeling.

Decades later, it’s a tactility he delivers to audiences around the world.

The San Diego native, 42, uses personal narratives that discuss the politics of social classes — race, class, gender and religion — while reinforcing the interconnected nature of humans. After 25 years touring, his poems have, in ways, acted as a skill set that connects wordsmiths and casual listeners alike.

“We are all having a very similar experience, even though the nuances are different,” he said. “It doesn’t bring the entire world together, but it brings worlds together.”

And human nature, as it turns out, is an evergreen topic.

Headliner: Rudy Francisco

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On Nov. 8 and 9, Francisco will energize the stage as a headliner for Mic Check Poetry Fest, Iowa’s premier celebration of spoken word poetry in Iowa City. He has published seven books, won multiple national poetry slam competitions, and performed on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”

“If you ask any adult who does (poetry) … Rudy comes up in the first three minutes,” said Caleb Rainey, an Iowa City spoken word artist known as The Negro Artist.

In Iowa, where the poetry community is having an “at-odds moment” between spoken word and page poetry, he sees opportunity in Francisco’s appearance to “smooth those lines and … look at this art form and how it can engage people from our institutions in Iowa.”

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Through big ways and small, Francisco weaves a variety of topics, like being a father and living as a Black man in America, into a patchwork of stories. More recently, his work has focused on finding the poetry in life’s small, daily details.

All of it converges on what it means to be human.

“As artists, we tend to be the pulse of what’s going on in the world. I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a human being and what it means to exist in a place where other human beings are having their own experiences,” he said. “I don’t have this idea of a utopia, but how do we allow ourselves to live our best lives and appreciate our differences?”

Experiencing poetry aloud for the first time, he said, can be transformative. But in places where the spoken word poetry scene still is growing, new audiences can be apprehensive.

If you go

What: Mic Check Poetry Fest

When: Nov. 8 and 9, 2024

Where: Virtually and in-person at venues across Iowa City — see website below for details.

Details: See powerful performances, attend writers workshops for all ages and find community in the power of spoken word poetry through in-person and virtual events hosted in Iowa City.

Cost: Individual performances start at $10 for college students; $75 to $85 for a Fest Pass that provides access to seven festival events, including workshops (Early bird pricing for festival passes ends Monday, Oct. 28); Free teens 13 to 18 years of age

For more information: iowacitypoetry.com

“It’s very rare someone comes in and doesn’t come back again,” said Francisco, who has performed in Iowa three times before. “Once they see the energy in the room and hear everybody’s stories … they’re blown away.”

Mic Check’s fourth annual Poetry Fest

Started in 2021 by Rainey and Lisa Roberts, founding director of Iowa City Poetry, Mic Check continues to grow in its fourth year. Last year’s festival drew more than 500 attendees.

In addition to big headliners, the event features workshops for growing poets, and spaces that foster the power of spoken word and other forms of writing. In a sign of the event’s growth, what used to be a two-person operation has garnered the support of a volunteer team to put on this year’s festival.

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“It’s not an antiseptic reading behind a podium,” Roberts said. “It can be an incredible meeting place for people of all ages, races and identities to come together and enjoy this incredible moment of social consciousness.”

Spoken word poetry, traced back through various movements in the Black community over the 20th century, has been having a moment in America. Since spoken word artists like Brandon Leake won “America’s Got Talent” and poet laureate Amanda Gorman ascended the stage for President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2020, the art form has started to infiltrate the forefront of pop culture.

“The poets bring themselves to the work in a way that reminds us of what it means to be human, which is important when you look at the timeline we’re in,” Rainey said. “The election is around the corner. Tensions are high. This is a reminder that we’re together, we’re real, and we matter to one another.”

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This year’s event features performances and workshops from Francisco and two current or former poet laureates, among other distinguished guests. On Nov. 9, artists will perform to music from The Blake Shaw Trio.

Two poets from last year’s festival took poems written at Mic Check to national slam poetry stages.

“That spark that gets lit can take people far,” Roberts said.

“I heard them talking about this weeks later, how it felt to be in a space (where they’re celebrated,)” Rainey noted.

Headliner: Outspoken Bean

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Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean, a former Houston Poet Laureate, also has been thinking about human nature a lot. Lately, he’s been captivated by the fallacy of man.

“There are no perfections. I think, personally, that the quest of perfection is a quest of erasure, in a lot of ways,” Bean said. “A lot of my work leans into that.”

His work, sometimes performed as an opener for Rudy Francisco at other engagements, incorporates humor and thought-provoking sequences.

As a 14-year coach to youth competing in national poetry slams, his philosophy as a mentor encourages repetition to fan the flame in young artists.

“The smartest thing we did was not quit,” Bean said, paraphrasing a quote from rapper Jay-Z. “I’ve taken that to heart in a lot of ways. It’s imperative to not quit.”

Events like this are integral to fueling their drive, headlining artists and event organizers said.

“Here I am, essentially encouraging teenagers to write poetry not just about bluebonnets and armadillos, but to write poetry that defies the structure we live in — and I’ll have your back,” said Bean.

Iowa Poet Laureate Vince Gotera

Current Iowa Poet Laureate Vince Gotera brings decades of performance and writing experience from his roles as a professor and musician to the stage.

Raised in San Francisco in a family of Filipino heritage, Gotera has taught creative writing and literature at the University of Northern Iowa for almost 30 years.

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A bass player in Waterloo band Deja Blue, much of his poetry focuses on music. In November, he’ll perform poetry alongside The Blake Shaw Trio.

“I think that poetry often is thought of as being really serious,” he said. “I’m a great believer in light poetry.”

That levity can help bring others into the fold who thought poetry was not accessible, not understandable, or too serious. Gotera’s latest book, “Dragons & Rayguns,” is part of his growing collection of what’s known as speculative poetry, which explores science fiction, fantasy or horror.

He said events like Mic Check are critical in helping to popularize modern poetry, which the public is often disconnected from. For many people, the literature professor said common knowledge of poetry doesn’t go farther than 19th and early 20th century poets like Robert Frost and T.S. Elliott.

“I feel like my job as Poet Laureate is to let people know that poetry is a living art. There are many poets among us today working in the field,” Gotera said. “I don’t know how many times someone has said poetry is a lost art, and I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m standing right in front of you.’ ”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.